


Desperate Times

by Rose_of_Pollux



Category: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (TV)
Genre: Artificial Respiration, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 15:38:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16835548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_of_Pollux/pseuds/Rose_of_Pollux
Summary: Fact 1: Napoleon Solo hates being underwater.  Fact 2: He will do anything to save Illya Kuryakin.  Fact 3: Fact 2 overrides Fact 1, always.





	Desperate Times

If there was one thing that Napoleon hated, it was the sensation of having his face submerged underwater--it felt as though power was taken away from him. In a way, it was—the ability to breathe was what powered the body; take that away… and you were powerless. And oh, how he hated that feeling!

His swimming skills weren’t the greatest, either—further reason to avoid a situation that would cause him to be submerged. Somehow, he had slipped through Survival School without getting his swimming skills tested—some sort of trickery and subterfuge that he no longer remembered, no doubt.

He suspected the day would come when it would come back to bite him with a vengeance—he had been dumped in the water several times, but he still made it out of those with relative ease thanks to his partner, who refused to betray his weakness.

Nevertheless, he knew, in the back of his mind, that the day would come when he would regret the deception—and the day came when, after keeping watch from the motorboat that he and Illya had been using in order to get Illya aboard a THRUSH freighter, he saw, with horror, two THRUSHies toss an unconscious Illya overboard the vessel, bound hand and foot—and with a barbell tied to a rope around his waist.

Illya hit the water and did not resurface, and Napoleon knew that he had to act quickly if he hoped to save his partner’s life.

There was no question about what he would do, of course—while he hated the sensation of having his face submerged, the thought of losing his partner was the one thing he hated most of all.

He leaped out of the motorboat and let himself sink; he forced himself not to panic and use up his oxygen as he used a knife to free Illya from the ropes.

That was the easy part; now he had to get him to the surface—and to safety.

THRUSH would be watching the water; they would have to get away. Fortunately, they weren’t too far from shore; Napoleon dragged Illya along as he made his way in an ungainly manner, bounding off of the floor of the bay until the water was shallow enough to allow Napoleon’s leaps to break the surface of the water. He gasped for breath and pulled Illya up with him. But Illya did not gasp for breath, and it made Napoleon’s blood run cold.

“No…” he said, now dragging Illya onto the shore. “Illya, please…”

He pulled the soaked, black turtleneck off of his partner and put his ear to his chest; yes, there was a heartbeat but… he was clearly not breathing, and his face was starting to take on an ashen hue, having taken in water while being unable to hold his breath while unconscious.

Napoleon got to work, breathing for his partner while trying to get the water out of his lungs. After what seemed like an eternity of artificial respiration, Illya now coughed as he began to breathe again on his own—and despite that this was followed by some unpleasant-looking, painful retching from the unfortunate Russian, it was a relief for Napoleon to see.

He would still require hospitalization and medical supervision, but as Illya opened his eyes briefly and looked at Napoleon with a mix of surprise and gratitude, Napoleon knew that his partner would, in time, recover with the proper care. After a quick call for backup, Napoleon returned to reassuring Illya.

“Help is on the way,” he promised, kissing him gently on the cheek.

Illya managed a weak nod, and then clutched at Napoleon’s hand as he continued to try to catch his breath. He couldn’t talk now, but he would make it clear later as to how much it meant that Napoleon faced his deepest fears and risked his life for him.

To know the depths of his love and loyalty made the whole thing almost worthwhile.


End file.
